Party at the Little House in the {Little} Woods

The sixteenth of December dawned brightly, sun peeking over the mountains and pouring down into the valley. There would be no snow this day, no maple sugar candy makin', but she popped out of bed with her blonde tresses a mass of rag curl bumps and proclaimed, I don't even care!

And only two invitations had been sent, one for sweet cousin who is her best friend, and one to the grandparents, who like to receive and delight in that sort of thing; but the day promised to be full of the marvelous gift of family, celebrating our girl.

I'd made two muffs to warm the hands of girls who would be wearing the gift of prairie dresses, made so lovingly by their auntie, and the roast was in the (not-so-Little-House-like) crockpot, the loaves of bread wrapped and resting, and peppermint pies chilling. We hadn't planned for too much structure to the day, for when two six-year-old girls (who see each other far less often than they'd like) would finally grasp hands and jump up and down for joy till they were breathless, the day would gallop away and hardly be reined in for a schedule, for goodness' sake.

There were dresses to be opened and tried on, a special lunch at the (one) local restaurant, the sewing of yo-yo's for some handwork (that ended up being a mama project, as two little girls had plans of their own...), a walk in the little woods, a simple family supper, followed by fiddlin' and dancin' with Papa, and sweet peppermint pie.

Join me for a stroll through the memories of that fine day?

Heartfelt thanks to my sisters, Maddie and Bethany, for all of the photographs...

The invitation. (template found here)

In the morning, cousin, aunties, and Nana arrived first- time to open the dresses!

Oh, yours is lovely! Let's put them on and go to the woods!

These two hardly stopped laughing and being silly as we explored the woods, the river, and our small town.

Although the sun was out, it was crisp- they were happy for their warm, chenille-lined muffs!

I can't tell you how many pictures there were like this- I only wish the camera had caught their mamas casting off for a good laugh at the same time!

The menu: Beef roast, graham bread, and creamed carrots, all from The Little House Cookbook, with a slight variation on the roast...

She could hardly believe it was true... The Three Gifts of Christmas, for her very own!

And she thought she might know what this gift was, from Aunt Maddie...

It is! It is! A bonnet to match!

And now, what do you suppose might be so captivating over there?

Of course- it's Papa, with the fiddle!

Eliana couldn't get enough of watching for Papa's finger to "pop" for Pop, Goes the Weasel!

Sprinkling crushed candy canes on the peppermint pies- I couldn't have made them without her!

Six. She's six.